My kids learned a whole language approach in school through the 2nd grade, and when I brought each of them home during their respective 2nd grade years, neither one could read at grade level, so I bought Phonics Pathways, and did a page a day. We read through the Frog and Toad books, Little Bear books, Dr. Seuss books, etc. Then we moved on to Nate the Great, Flat Stanley, etc. books when they were each about 9 years old. Still, they both learned to read s-l-o-w-l-y. Once they each turned 10, I went through the original Reading Rewards program published by Sopris West with them. Rewards took one hour a day, 5 days a week for 5 weeks, and bumped each of them to the level of real chapter books. They would not have been ready for this program prior to the age of 10, however. I know that the Rewards program has changed quite a bit, and if they have a program for younger readers, I bet it's very good, but I would check for reviews on this board (the best curriculum resource on the internet!). My son, now 14 and an excellent reader, read his first "real" book - the first of the Series of Unfortunate Events - when he was 10. My daughter, who is in 7th grade and reading at grade level, also read her first "real" book at 10 years old - Betsy and Tacy Go Over the Big Hill. I read a study years ago that made me feel better about my children learning to read a bit later than kids who are in school. The study was conducted on homeschooled kids who were the "subjects," and traditionally schooled kids were the "controls." The home schooled kids learned to read later than the schooled kids - about 9.5 years old on average. But, by the time they were of high school age, the home schooled kids were superior readers to the schooled kids. As a speech-language pathologist who believes in the neuro-developmental model of learning (i.e. that children are ready to learn what they learn when their brains have developed to a particular degree), the results of this study make sense to me. Countries, like Finland, which have high literacy rates in their populations don't even start teaching children to read until they are 7 years old. I am also a big advocate of the phonics approach, so I can't give you advice on using whole language. But I did want to give you this other info so that you would know that at 7 years old your son isn't yet at the point where you need to worry that he isn't learning to read well.

These answers totally depend on the school, and the school district that your dd may attend. When my formerly homeschooled son decided he wanted to go to high school, he investigated the 3 public high schools he had easy admission to (in the district, or agreement with the district), and all of them were different! Different scheduling schemes, study hall availability, etc. My son, a freshman, chose a small charter high school and has block scheduling. He has 6 classes this semester. He has 3 classes per day, each 90 minutes with a 40 minute lunch break, and 5 minute breaks between classes. (The school is so small they only have 5 classrooms, so 5 minutes is enough time to get from one class to the next!). They have the A/B day scheme. Fridays alternate between A/B days, and on those days the classes are 60 minutes long each. Some kids have 4 classes one day, and 2 classes the next M-Th, and alternate 4 classes and 2 classes on Fridays - it just depends on which classes they're taking! He gets to school at 8:30 and leaves at 1:30 M-Th, which is ideal for him, because he's dysgraphic and homework takes extra time for him. They do not have a formal study hall, but because of the block scheduling, the kids have more time during their regular days to get their homework done than most high school kids do. They do not have P.E. classes at their school, rather, they have to fill out "contracts" stating that they participated in approved physical activities for 4 hours per week. I think they have to do this for 2 years. All classes at his high school are considered "college prep" except they do offer a pre-algebra class to kids who need it, and that doesn't qualify as "college prep." The kids have to meet the University of California entrance requirements in order to graduate. For Honors classes, they offer several APs, and kids are encouraged to take classes at the excellent local community college when they are juniors/seniors. So far, my son only has about 1 - 2 hours per day of homework, but I can tell that the homework load is beginning to ratchet up. :001_smile: Edited to add: Each of my son's classes lasts the entire year. His school does not have the block scheduling scheme where each class lasts only a semester. The only exception to that is the completion of the health/technology requirement: One semester of health, then one semester of technology.

My high school freshman has to leave his geography text in the classroom, unless they have homework involving use of the text. In his Algebra class, they have assigned texts that they can bring home; however, they have too many kids taking Algebra this year and not enough texts, so he volunteered to have units copied on the copy machine for him. So - no studying ahead. Ah well. He's doing well so far anyway. He's taking his English class online, and so has the text that the online class follows at home with him. I like the idea of buying the geography text, and the algebra text on half.com. I hadn't thought about that, so thanks! :001_smile:

littlefamily: I am a strong supporter of Singapore Math, and used it with my son, and came back to it for my dd after using a California math curriculum (not Singapore) with her last year. I did want to let you know, though, that the older Singapore Math editions shown on the video (Primary Math, and Primary math U.S. edition) have no probability problems at all at the elementary level. They have recently come out with a "standards" edition that correlates with the California standards, and that edition does include probability problems.

My daughter is in 7th grade, and our winner, and a big surprise to us is Time4Learning Language Arts. My daughter is learning to take notes when she watches the lessons, which is an invaluable skill. The content hits all the standards, and is presented in a fun way. Always a winner for us, and something I've returned to this year after trying a California Standards curriculum (Math Steps - Hate it!) is Singapore math.

You guys are great! I feel so supported in this. Reading your posts, I felt most drawn in my mind to homeschooling my son again, but in my heart, I knew that we should try to make his high school work for him. After homeschooling him for 6 years, I can honestly say I have rarely seen him so focused on achieving academic goals as he has been thus far in high school. My husband and his family have been all for pulling our son out of high school and trying again next year. And even though I love homeschooling, and I'm daunted by the idea of him continuing in school this year, his strong desire and motivation to succeed regardless of his struggles is important to support, as many of you have pointed out. He actually said to me yesterday, "Mom. So I struggle for the first semester, and get Cs in English and maybe even Social Studies. Then I'm feeling better next semester and I get Bs, maybe even an A or two. That's worth it to me. Don't lots of people struggle in their lives, and then come through it all O.K.?" Wow. So, I spoke with the principal and asked about the provisions you guys suggested with regard to assisting kids with major medical issues. The principal agreed, and we've come up with a plan that won't be too overtaxing for ds. I was concerned that he would have so much work to make up after being out sick for a week that he would constantly be trying to play catch up. The principal agreed that that would be too stressful, and so he's going to ask all his teachers to right off any tests or classroom work, and have ds start fresh when he returns. In the meantime, ds has to complete all assigned homework during the time he is out sick. When he returns, he'll be able to receive tutoring in Spanish and math, if he needs it in order to keep up with the classes. He's going to drop his English class, and "homeschool" English in a fashion. The County Office of Education has online classes for all the basic high school subjects, and ds can take the online freshman English class. He has a year to finish, and he can go at his own pace. This may end up being a blessing in disguise, since he'll be able to do all writing assignments at home on the computer, rather than having to compose in class. The school is so small, they only have one level of English for 9th and 10th - both college prep, and then they have AP or regular American Lit and senior level English. This online option is brand new this year. Because the school is on block scheduling, and they do not have P.E. at school (they fulfill their P.E. commitment on their own time, and fill out P.E. logs), and one of the required electives each year is community service, he will only have 5 classes on campus, which means he'll be on campus only 16 or 17 hours a week. I feel truly blessed by all the support I received here. After reading your posts, I felt confident when talking to the principal that we could work something out for my son. As my kids would say, You Rock! :D

My son, just turned 14 this past weekend, is a freshman at a public charter high school. He's doing well in 5 out of 6 of his classes, but the 6th class (English - ds is dysgraphic) requires so much time for him to complete the work, that he's falling behind already. One of the main reasons he's falling behind is because he just had open heart surgery 5 weeks ago. He's still recovering from that, but because he started school just 3 weeks after the surgery, and 2 weeks after he got out of intensive care, he pushed himself too hard, and is now home sick with bronchitis! Poor guy is trying so hard to keep up with his homework, but because he's sick, it takes him hours to finish, and he's getting more and more tired. If he was healthy, the English class would still be tough for him, but he'd have the energy he needs to push himself to succeed. Right now, he has the mental will, but his body is not cooperating! My husband is ready to pull him right now. I feel more reluctance to pull him because all of his friends go to this school, and when we've mentioned pulling him out and having him try again next year, he gets upset and says that we don't believe in him and his ability to succeed. That kind of will to succeed is a trait I want to support. I would love to homeschool him this year and call him a freshman, but because we do not live in the same district as the charter school, we were able to get him into that school because he'd been enrolled in a homestudy program in that district. Because of his September birthday, we could put him back in the program and call him an 8th grader again, but he is very upset about that idea - for understandable reasons. Here's my husband's idea, and I wanted to see what you all thought about it. He thinks we should pull ds out of high school, but continue teaching him high school level courses. That way, next year he could start math with geometry (he's in algebra 1 right now), and whiz through the social studies, Spanish, etc. classes. Then, when he's a senior and 18 years old, he can just finish up his high school requirements at the community college instead of actually going to his senior year in high school. We do have an excellent community college here. I am so torn. Of course, the number one priority is getting ds healthy. What do you all think of the idea that ds could be a "freshman" next year, but still go to college when he is 18, rather than going to his senior year in high school? Sorry for the ramble - I'm feeling so emotional over this whole thing.

I've purchased plenty of small things that ended up not working well, but my biggest purchase was a Sonlight core that I used very little of. We just didn't like the particular book selections, I didn't like the schedule, etc. We're still using the Sonlight timeline book for History Odyssey, though!

We use the textbook to learn the concepts, and the methods for solving problems. We rewrite the textbook problems on the whiteboard, and the kids solve them there. Once the kids get how to solve the problems, they complete the corresponding lesson in the workbook. I love the workbooks because they give the kids so much room to solve problems. Other math books we've used have been so busy on the page. My kids love how uncluttered the Singapore workbook pages are. The workbooks are very inexpensive, and I think students get the most out of the program by using both resources. Mental math is also an important aspect of the Singapore method, but I've always let my kids rewrite the problems in whatever format they needed to to solve them most efficiently.

Week 3 here. My dd is in her fifth year of homeschooling (7th grader), and was very burned out on workbooks, so I put her in Time4Learning 7th grade for her Language Arts this year. She's having fun doing it so far, so I'm sticking with it for hitting all the state standards. Math - Argh! Last year, I decided that I wouldn't use Singapore with her after all, because we'd decided as a family that my son would go to high school this year. So, I wanted my dd to be on a California math curriculum, since she will probably go to high school as well. When Ds was in elementary grades (homeschooling), he did Singapore through 5B when he was a 6th grader, then in middle school (he only did one year of middle school, then went to high school), he completed about half of Math Steps California edition pre-algebra to fill in the probability, geometry, data and statistics, etc. that Singapore didn't cover. I also had him do about 2/3 of the pre-algebra program on ALEKS, and most of problems in the first 4 Key To Algebra workbooks. He's in Algebra 1 as a freshman this year, and is over-prepared. So, why isn't this plan working for my daughter? I don't know, but I do know that when she was using Singapore, she was retaining her skills, and since I used ALEKS, and Math Steps California edition at her grade level with her last year, it's as if she learned nothing. Nothing. So, she's back to Singapore - in Level 4A! She's moving through it quickly, but I can't believe how little she remembers from last year. It's shocking. She would have been finished with 5B at this point if I'd stuck with Singapore. Ugh. Lesson learned. She's also finishing up History Odyssey, Ancients Level 2, which is going very well. She has had some great breakthroughs in her writing. It's much more mature this year. So - math significantly worse, writing significantly better. She'll start HO, Middle Ages, Level 2 in a couple of months. She's a bunhead (ballet student!), and spends 12 - 14 hours per week at her dance studio, and her full schedule just started last week. Her homestudy program workshops start next week, so she'll be busy, busy, busy. Ds had open heart surgery 5 weeks ago today, and started high school 2 weeks ago. He started off well, but his health and energy level are worsening, not getting better. I'm working with his high school staff to help lighten the load for him. They're being great! Yay for small schools. I say this light-heartedly, but I've been in tears the last 2 days just watching him try to get through his days. He's so determined, and gets upset when I say that he should homeschool this semester, and go back to school 2nd semester. Dh and I want to support this wonderful sense of responsibility and determination he has, but not at the expense of his health! He is doing well in all classes but one, but it's only been 2 weeks! Aaa. This is so difficult. I could blab on about this, but I'll spare you.

The study guide lists page numbers, but also states the topic being covered. For example, my daughter's lesson today required her to "Continue your outline on ancient Greece. Write one main topic for City-States and one for Greek Culture. Write at least two subtopics for each main idea." Page numbers for the appropriate pages which cover these topics are given. Earlier lessons give the student even more information regarding what is being covered in the KFH since the study guide gives specific examples for developing outlines. I think you should be able to figure out which pages to use with the information given in the study guide.

My son just started high school at a small public charter high school as a freshman. He did not have good study habits going in, and it was like pulling teeth for me to get him to do school work at home, unless he could see that it could apply to whatever his definition of "real life" is. :glare: He's only been in high school two weeks, but so far he's doing all the homework and studying for tests, with only a little nagging from me (relative to what I was doing in prior years to get him to study). So, he's learning good study habits as he needs them because it's important to him, and he sees studying for high school classes as "real life." He didn't see studying for homeschool in the same way. I don't want you to get the wrong impression - he's a great kid, and we get along well most of the time. He just has funny ideas, and it is very difficult to move him off certain ideas he has. We have the Teaching Company DVDs "How to Become a Super Star Student" and we started to watch them last year, during my son's 2nd semester of homeschooled 8th grade, but he just couldn't relate the suggestions to himself. Now that he's in school, he's seeing the relevance of what the DVD instructor suggested. After he settles in a bit, we'll watch them again. My son just had open heart surgery 4 weeks ago (his 4th open heart surgery, but the last one was when he was five years old), and he has so much on his plate with recovering from surgery (he's still moving so slowly :( ), and starting high school after 6 years of homeschooling that I don't want to pile on too much. He's doing well so far, but truth be told, the teachers are going easy on the freshman right now, and I can see some issues like note taking being a bear for him in the not too distant future. To add insult to injury, he's also dysgraphic! I did remember the suggestion the TC instructor made to read the math chapter the night before the lecture, and thought it was a great one. But there are too many students in Ds class this year, so the teacher didn't have enough textbooks. She asked for students to volunteer having the current chapter sections they are working with copied and handed to them to carry around, rather than a textbook. On the one hand, this is great for my son, since he's not even supposed to be carrying a backpack right now (had to fudge on that post-surgery precaution). But now he doesn't have a textbook for studying ahead. Ah well....

It's fine to register him as a kindergartener whenever you feel comfortable doing so, especially as you are homeschooling. We live in California, and so our cutoff date for kindergarten registration is very late - turning 5 by December 2 of the year they child starts kindergarten. My son has a September birthday, and since he had open heart surgery in the fall when he was supposed to have started kindergarten, we held him out. We were not planning on homeschooling at that time, so we did send him to a private school in January when he was 5. He finished their kinder curriculum, but his teacher recommended that he repeat kindergarten. So at 6 years old, he was called a kindergartener, but since they let the children go at their own pace (as long as their pace was at or above grade level work), he was really doing first grade work that year. He did the same for first grade - really doing second grade work. As it turns out, my son is dysgraphic, so as the private school curriculum became more and more demanding, he was having a harder and harder time keeping up with the writing load, so we started homeschooling him. Once we started homeschooling, we registered for a public school homestudy program in which the kids go to enrichment workshops several hours a week. The program has been great for both of my kids. We have been allowed to select our own curriculum, etc. Since my son had been called a "second grader" in school, we kept him on that grade track in his public school home study program. Well, last year when he turned 13 and was called a "seventh grader" he announced that he was going to be an eighth grader, and go to high school when he was 13 turning 14. I couldn't really blame him, since he was the oldest, and the tallest kid in the seventh grade (not to mention the moustache he was already sprouting! And the voice as deep as my husband's). He had a lot of work to do last year in the language arts department to be ready for high school this year, but we accelerated him as best we could, and he is in fact in a small, public, college prep, charter high school this year. I could not in a million years have imagined my tall, strong, mature 13 turning 14 year old who is ready for high school when we chose his grade level when he was 6 years old! I am so glad he was in a flexible program, and they were willing to change his grade level. All of this is to say that you may have certain plans for the graduation age of your children when they are small, but as they grow and develop, those ideas may have to change. Just one year before, when my son was 12, going to high school a year earlier than planned wasn't even on the radar. He changed a great deal when he turned 13. Of course, we know 13 year old boys who still look like they're 11, and are in the 8th grade now, and could probably use another year of development before they go to high school. It just depends on how your own particular child grows and develops. Since you're homeschooling, you have the option of being flexible - and that's great! (Oh, and as fate would have it, my son had to have open heart surgery again, just 20 days before his first day of high school! Here he is in high school, just 4 weeks out now from open heart surgery! He is a trooper extraordinaire. And determined! If anyone had a reason to postpone high school an extra year he did, but he wouldn't hear of it!).

I am a speech-language pathologist, and so well-versed in developmental stages of language acquisition. Even though a child has reached a certain birthday, it does not mean that they are ready for all of the tasks requisite for deeper, logic-stage thinking. It's better to think in terms of a range of ages, say 10 (very unusual, but possible) to 14, rather than in terms of "on or about the 11th birthday, every child will be able to think and apply a certain type of logic. Understanding a topic, or way of thinking must come before being able to express it oneself, so it is quite possible that he does understand what you are asking, but isn't quite yet able to express that level of thought. Does that make sense? Receptive language (the ability to process and understand what is said) is usually stronger than expressive language in most cases. For example, I may be able to understand a lecture by William F. Buckley, Jr., but I could never spontaneously express myself in as complex a manner as he did. :lol: It sounds like your son does understand what you have been teaching him. Walking him through the thinking process, and showing him how to think it through are probably exactly where he is in his development right now - and that's fine! After you've walked him through it a number of times, he'll start saying, "I already know this mom! That passage means_____________, Duh!" and act like you're crazy for thinking he couldn't do all of the task himself. At least, that's what I'm going through with my high school freshman right now, who says he can't possibly do XYZ homework task one minute, and then gets indignant with me when I try to help him, because of course he can do it himself! Duh!:banghead:

Hi! I'm a homeschooling mom of two and have been married to my wonderful and patient husband for 21 years. I used to post on the old board from time to time but it's been awhile now. I didn't know that the board had been switched to a new format - and I love it! :D As I said, I have two kids: a son who just started attending a public school college prep charter high school. He hasn't been to school in 6 years, so this should be interesting. It was his idea, and so far he's done all his homework but balks at any assignments that ask the kids to express their creativity. For example, his freshman English teacher wants the kids to bring magazines and collage materials to class on Wednesday of this week to decorate their journals, and to bring something that symbolizes themselves to decorate the classroom walls. He hates this kind of assignment. It was like pulling teeth to get him to choose things to bring to class. Ah well. He's also dysgraphic, and has a terrible time with writing. That being said, he did finish his first writing assignment early, and with a good attitude. It was his idea to go to high school, and we said we would support him as long as he does his work, and maintains a good attitude overall. I guess it would be too harsh to expect him never to complain about high school. :lol: With the exception of not wanting to decorate his English class notebook, he's doing well. My dd is a 7th grader this year. She will continue to homeschool at least through the 8th grade. We live in California, and my dd homeschools through a public school homestudy program (as did my son). She goes to enrichment classes for 6 hours per week over 2 days. The classes are set up so that all the kids go at the same time on the same days, so they bond with their teachers and friends. It's nice. We are allowed to use any curriculum we choose to use. Some people there are practially unschoolers, and some are very structured. Most of us fall somewhere in between. I've been an "in-betweener" truth be told. This year, my dd and I want her to be much more structured. Here's our plan so far: Language Arts: Time4Learning 7th grade/History Odyssey - finish Greece and Rome in Ancients Level 2. Then work through HO Middle Ages, Level 2. Math: Time4Learning 7th grade + Key Tos Social Studies/History: History Odyssey. We finished Ancients Level 2 up to Ancient Greece. California requirements for 7th grade include studying history from Rome through the Enlightenment. We will also be including the study of Ancient Greece prior to beginning the Rome unit, since we didn't complete it last year. We'll then work in HO Middle Ages, level 2. Science: Weekly science workshops and homework from homestudy program. Art/Music: Weekly art workshops at homestudy program. Piano lessons with mom. P.E.: Dd is a serious ballet student. She will have 12 - 14 hours per week of dance at her ballet studio. In addition, she will have a weekly P.E. class at her homestudy program. Foreign Language: Uh....here's where I really have a hard time being consistent. When she was 8 - 10 years old, she took weekly small group French classes. Once her ballet schedule ratcheted up, she quit French, and I will admit that I haven't kept up with her French studies as I had planned to. We own Rosetta Stone Spanish Level 1. DS hated it, but Dd may like it. I'm thinking of having her do that, even though she'd prefer the French version. Latin: Looking at Cambridge, but still deciding. Nice to be back. :001_smile:

Thanks for the friendly welcomes! I'll post this on the General Board. I never used that board much in the old format, so I guess I didn't even think about it. Sorry. :blushing: KFamily - Enjoy your little one in ballet. Those were the days! Now our lives seem to revolve around dd's ballet schedule at times... Hen Jen - My kids would love to go to homeschooling day at Disneyland, but we live about 450 miles away - so we probably won't make it. :D Well - one day in, and we've already had a rude awakening with regard to dd's math skills. She was unable to do the Grade 7 lessons. I guess I did too much jumping around last year (some ALEKS, some Key To, Some Math Steps), and it's showing. Back to review with Singapore, and get her up to speed!

Hi! I'm a homeschooling mom of two, and have been married to my wonderful and patient husband for 21 years. I used to post on the old board from time to time, but it's been awhile now. I didn't know that the board had been switched to a new format - and I love it! :D As I said, I have two kids: a son who just started attending a public school college prep charter high school. He hasn't been to school in 6 years, so this should be interesting. It was his idea, and so far he's done all his homework but balks at any assignments that ask the kids to express their creativity. For example, his freshman English teacher wants the kids to bring magazines and collage materials to class on Wednesday of this week to decorate their journals, and to bring something that symbolizes themselves to decorate the classroom walls. He hates this kind of assignment. It was like pulling teeth to get him to choose things to bring to class. Ah well. He's also dysgraphic, and has a terrible time with writing. That being said, he did finish his first writing assignment early, and with a good attitude. It was his idea to go to high school, and we said we would support him as long as he does his work, and maintains a good attitude overall. I guess it would be too harsh to expect him never to complain about high school. :lol: With the exception of not wanting to decorate his English class notebook, he's doing well. My dd is a 7th grader this year. She will continue to homeschool at least through the 8th grade. We live in California, and my dd homeschools through a public school homestudy program (as did my son). She goes to enrichment classes for 6 hours per week over 2 days. The classes are set up so that all the kids go at the same time on the same days, so they bond with their teachers and friends. It's nice. We are allowed to use any curriculum we choose to use. Some people there are practially unschoolers, and some are very structured. Most of us fall somewhere in between. I've been an "in-betweener" truth be told. This year, my dd and I want her to be much more structured. Here's our plan so far: Language Arts: Time4Learning 7th grade/History Odyssey - finish Greece and Rome in Ancients Level 2. Then work through HO Middle Ages, Level 2. Math: Time4Learning 7th grade + Key Tos Social Studies/History: History Odyssey. We finished Ancients Level 2 up to Ancient Greece. California requirements for 7th grade include studying history from Rome through the Enlightenment. We will also be including the study of Ancient Greece prior to beginning the Rome unit, since we didn't complete it last year. We'll then work in HO Middle Ages, level 2. Science: Weekly science workshops and homework from homestudy program. Art/Music: Weekly art workshops at homestudy program. Piano lessons with mom. P.E.: Dd is a serious ballet student. She will have 12 - 14 hours per week of dance at her ballet studio. In addition, she will have a weekly P.E. class at her homestudy program. Foreign Language: Uh....here's where I really have a hard time being consistent. When she was 8 - 10 years old, she took weekly small group French classes. Once her ballet schedule ratcheted up, she quit French, and I will admit that I haven't kept up with her French studies as I had planned to. We own Rosetta Stone Spanish Level 1. DS hated it, but Dd may like it. I'm thinking of having her do that, even though she'd prefer the French version. Latin: Looking at Cambridge, but still deciding. Nice to be back. :001_smile:

they use block scheduling. He just started, so we don't have any personal experience with it yet, but I have two nephews who went to high schools with block scheduling, and they both loved it, because they were able to focus on fewer classes per day, and they felt it kept them more organized. My son's school has year long courses, though, so it's different than the majority of block scheduled schools being discussed here. He has 3 classes per day: on Mondays/Wednesdays he has English 9, Health, and Spanish 1. On Tuesdays/Thursdays he has Algebra 1, Geography, and Art. Each class is 85 minutes long. Fridays alternate between A and B days, and each class is held for one hour. The one exception to the year-long courses is Health, which is a requirement, and lasts one semester. The second semester he will fulfill his "Technology" requirement. The students have to fulfill their P.E. requirement on their own, and fill out forms stating that they participated in the required number of hours of physical exercise. They also have to participate in 10 community service hours per semester. The kids are required to fulfill the University of California entrance requirements as a minimum for graduation. I can totally understand why semester long classes would put high schoolers at a disadvantage, but I'm hoping my son's schedule will help him stay organized (one of his challenges!). He has been homeschooled for the past 6 years so we'll see how this new adventure goes... Oh - I have posted on WTM boards on and off for about 6 years, but haven't been around for awhile. I didn't even know that the forum format had changed. I love the new format! If I recall, my username on the old board was LSC. It's nice to be here again! (My dd is in 7th grade and still homeschools). I'll be using the boards for my dd, and to support my son in his high school journey. :001_smile:

Hi everyone! I used to post on the old board here and there. I think my username there was LSC. Anyhoo - I have a 14 year old son who homeschooled for 6 years, and just started attending a small charter high school. My 12 year old daughter (her birthday today! and she's in the midst of her slumber party) is a 7th grader this year, and will be homeschooling at least through the 8th grade. She's been homeschooling for 4 1/2 years. Now, to answer the question. I have always pulled together our curriculum, done our own lesson plans, administered, and taught all core curriculum lessons. (Both kids have attended public school homeschooling enrichment workshops all along). This year, my dd decided she wanted to try something different, like an online program where she would get what she calls "real" grades from a "real" teacher. So after doing some research (why oh why didn't I come here first to do my research?) We decided on Keystone's new middle school program, and we bought the whole shebang. Well...we did it for 4 days, and sent it all back this morning. My dd was upset, because she wanted to keep the math and the language arts. We have a brand new Apple iMac desktop computer, and we were having problems with the computer interface at Keystone. Their software kept marking quiz questions as "no response" when dd certainly had responded! After trying to work through the problem with them, and them not being able to change any of her grades, or allow her to retake tests, we decided to ditch the whole thing. I also did not like her spending 5 hours a day on the computer - we both had headaches by Wednesday night! Now we've decided to find an online program that is compatible with Mac (apparently other Keystone users have also had problems using Macs - according to the Student Services personnel I spoke with). In the interim, I'm going to have her do Time4Learning for math and language arts. And who knows - we may end up just sticking with that and supplementing. We would have supplemented Keystone anyway! Of course, I learned about Time4Learning by logging onto Well Trained Mind's wonderful forums. As I look at my homeschool bookshelves, I can see that the vast majority of materials there I found through recommendations on WTM. You guys are the best homeschooling resources on the web! :001_smile: